For Sebastian Vettel it is a mantra: in 2019, Scuderia Ferrari does not have enough aerodynamic downforce to counter Mercedes’ hegemony. The Italian side’s Team Principal Mattia Binotto confirms this, while the 10-0 victories of the Silver Arrow prove it.
The Maranello team team in defining the 2019 single-seater has staked everything on aerodynamic efficiency and maximum straight-line speeds, seeking solutions that enhanced the idea of having the most powerful power unit. Mercedes, on the other hand, thought of the W10 as having the fastest speed when cornering, taking advantage of the ability to run the tires well in the right window of use, with the highest downforce ever produced by an F1 car.
Already at the beginning of the 2019 season the top cars had recovered the lost time due to the aerodynamic regulatory limitations and now they are unquestionably the fastest cars in history (Max Verstappen broke the pole position of the Hungaroring by 1 “7 with Red Bull RB15. Unfortunately Ferrari squandered the opportunities to win the races on several circuits that were favorable for it (Bahrain, Canada and Austria), so the gap would not have been so bad (in the Constructors’ title there is a gap of 150 points!). Howeever, there is without a doubt a technical advantage in favor of the construction philosophy used by the Brackley team.
The front wing of the SF90 was designed to bring the vortices to the outside of the front wheel to clean up the turbulence generated by the moving tire, and has ensured a low drag, but also a lower downforce on the front axle, while Mercedes did not hesitate to go for a front wing which is less sensitive to outwash.
Revolutionizing the concept of the car in the current season would have meant unsustainable costs. Especially given the fact that in Maranello there are those who wonder, as the aerodynamic head, David Sanchez, if the issues of the SF90 are only aerodynamic or if, instead, the deficiencies in exploiting the tires also derive from a front suspension too conservative.
In short, there is the doubt that something was sacrificed on the mechanical management of the SF90 in favor of aerodynamic research. The suspicion is more than legitimate, given the fact that during the first half of the 2019 Formula One season, Mercedes has brought some very interesting updates, precisely aimed at the best exploitation of the tires.
Aldo Costa’s staff thought of a front suspension with a double bracket: in addition to lifting and removing the upper triangle (as already seen on W09), it introduced a pivot that moves the fulcrum of the push rod strut and allows lowering the single-seater up to 5 mm when the wheels are steered. And all this refinement work is combined with the control of the third element which has been hydraulically operated for some years. Red Bull went in the same direction as Mercedes, but developed a concept of its own: it gave up the upper triangle, to separate it into two arms that transformed the scheme into multi-links. The purpose? Finding the right footprint of the tires to increase grip during cornering, avoiding damaging skids due to overheating.
At Hockenheim, Ferrari had hoped that a set-up of the front suspension had finally been found that would allow it to exploit the full potential of the SF90, but Hungary immediately cooled the German enthusiasm, with the SF90 finishing a minute behind Mercedes and Red Bull.
Ferrari’s 671 project is now based on the front hydraulic suspension after the rear was introduced on the SF71H last year. In Maranello it seems that the team has decided to make this important qualitative leap even if the 2021 rules will prohibit the third hydraulically managed element, a change which actually seems to be made on the proposal of the Italian side. The 2020 rules will be in line with those used this year, so all the data which has been gained during the season will be useful to correct the design of the car next championship, while for 2021 a true revolution is expected.
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